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However, if the data that you want to wipe from your WD portable external hard drive is critical and confidential, consider using a reliable and trusted data erasure tool such as BitRaser File Eraser. To wipe any file from your WD portable external hard drive, you can use SDelete program from Microsoft or a third party Eraser tool. Delete Files from WD Portable External Hard Drive Therefore, you need to wipe your WD portable external hard drive in order to ensure the file is permanently destroyed. Then again, there is no way to find out if the new data that you add to drive will overwrite those particular sectors (deleted files).
![how to erase wd my passport external hard drive how to erase wd my passport external hard drive](https://www.westerndigital.com/content/dam/store/en-us/assets/products/portable/my-passport/gallery/black/1-2tb/MyPassport-1TB-2TB-Black-Angled-Right.png)
The deleted filed still remain on the hard drive and can be recovered with a data recovery tool unless overwritten by new data. In other words, the OS deallocates the deleted file sectors for new data and only makes it hard to access. The operating system only deletes the path to access that file from the File System. Even when you empty recycle bin or use Shift+Delete to delete a file permanently, it is not wiped immediately and remains vulnerable to recovery. When you delete a file, it goes into the recycle bin, from where it can be restored in just a few clicks. To quickly erase the files beyond recovery, you can buy a powerful file eraser software, such as BitRaser File Eraser.ĭestroying files from a Windows PC or an external storage device is not as easy as it seems. In this blog, we've mentioned the best way to wipe confidential files permanently from your Windows portable external hard drive.
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When you delete files from any external hard drive, they become inaccessible but can be recovered.